


Wonderful Things

by LaurelNymph



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 1930s AU, Action/Adventure, Indiana Jones AU, M/M, ereriweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-07
Packaged: 2018-04-02 06:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4049302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaurelNymph/pseuds/LaurelNymph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Through a ridiculous turn of events, a simple thug named Levi finds himself pairing up with archaeologist extraordinaire Eren Jaeger to find some of mankind’s most important artifacts. They might save the world and fall in love along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi gets himself into some hot water. The punishment is going to be a bitch.

If Levi weren’t a man who was in complete control of himself, he might have shrieked as the Citroën truck he was riding in hit a bump so huge the wheels went flying off the dirt. Instead he barely even let out a grunt when his ass slammed painfully into the seat as the vehicle landed on the ground.

What really tested his self-control was the sudden burst of gunfire right fucking next to his head. There was an enormous cracking sound as the glass of the windshield shattered. Luckily Levi had already ducked to avoid planting a bullet into his brain so the shards of glass flew over his head.

“Levi, take the wheel!” Eren screamed in his abused ear. Then Eren crawled into the trunk and stood up in the wildly bouncing car like the insane man Levi had realized he was. His odds of survival were probably better if he stuck with Eren so Levi slid over to the driver’s seat and grabbed the steering wheel, squinting as he tried to steer the truck in the dark. There was a loud, metallic click next to him and then Eren was brandishing a _where the hell did he get that big-ass gun_.

There was no time to wonder: the next second Eren was firing back at the truck chasing them. Even though his tongue refused to function, mentally Levi was swearing at every known being in existence that managed to land him here, trying to drive off the roads in the middle of fucking nowhere in the middle of the night being hunted down and fucking _shot at_.

What kind of convoluted bullshit had forced him into this shitty situation?

He blamed the library.

* * *

“Get back here, you little shits!”

Isabel’s laugh rang through the alley as she flipped off the cop chasing them. He let out of roar of rage and Levi sprinted faster.

“You just _had_ to make him mad!” Farlan gasped out as they kept running.

“We’re faster than he is!” Isabel insisted. True; the cop was lagging behind them when they switched direction and flew down a flight of stairs. But he was still following and people were starting to stare.

“Shit,” Farlan hissed, “We better split up.”

Levi grunted in assent. Isabel called out, “Fine!”

The trio kept racing down the street until Farlan called out, “Intersection, Isabel, take right, I’ll go straight, Levi break left!”

They were coming down close to the end of this alley and the intersection. Levi focused on the left path so he was ready when the shout came.

“Now!”

“Levi!” He turned and saw Isabel taking a bag out of her vest; Levi just managed to catch it before he ducked down the left road and started running again. He crammed the bag in his pocket—it was just Isabel’s candies but to the copper chasing them, it was a good enough decoy. _Farlan_ was the one with the goods, but now Levi, undoubtedly the fastest one, was being chased. It was one of their better tricks.

As filthy as it was, Levi snatched the rim of a trash can and threw it behind himself. He knew it hit the cop because there was swearing and rattling. Excellent. Levi turned another corner and kept jogging trying to ignore the burning in his thighs. Huh. This was a part of town he wasn’t that familiar with. Because that building over there that looked like a church was one he’d definitely never seen before. He’d remember something that gaudy.

“There you are!”

Levi ran down a hallway in this fancy-ass place lined with pillars. He threw himself behind one, waited for the pig to pant his way past, and ducked into the first door he saw. Immediately he was hit with the musty smell of books.

So he was in a library. There were shittier places to hide from the cops. Just in case that bastard was still hanging around, Levi headed deeper into the building to wait between the shelves. Because he didn’t want to attract too much attention from the other library patrons (rich university brats judging by the ties, thick glasses, and tapered slacks) milling around, Levi occasionally took a book down from a shelf and flipped mindlessly through it.

The print was small and he couldn’t read anyway; Kuchel had never had the chance to teach him more than his ABCs and it wasn’t as if his job required him to actually learn to read. The book was shoved back onto the shelf and Levi wandered the library some more, looking for something more interesting. At least an art book might have some nice pictures. Instead, he opened another book only to find detailed drawings of fruit flies.

“University students are fucking strange,” Levi mumbled.

“Excuse me.”

Levi fought the urge to whip out his shiv and turned around slowly; this better not be that fucking cop again. Instead it was a short, slight kid with long blond hair tied back. He was staring at the book in Levi’s hands.

“Are you going to need _The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity_?” he asked.

“What?” was Levi’s eloquent response. The blond’s eyes ducked down to Levi’s hands.

“It’s the library’s only copy and I need it to formulate my next fly experiments.”

The blank feeling in Levi’s brain listening to that Greek must have shown on his face because the kid cleared his throat and continued, “That is Professor Morgan’s book you’re holding, isn’t it?”

Levi had no goddamn clue. He shoved the book at the kid anyway. The last fucking thing he needed to do was prolong this conversation and leave a memorable impression when he was on the run. The blond walked away and Levi watched him carefully, all sorts of revenge thoughts running through his mind if the kid dared to talk to any cops. Instead, he just took the book to a table, sat down with it, and started to read.

The danger was past. This job was going pretty well, side-trip to the library included; Levi was feeling good about it until the clock struck three. Amidst the chiming the long-haired blond was approached by… the most beautiful man Levi had ever seen in his life.

He pressed himself against a shelf, took a book down so he could peer through the crack without being noticed. Blond kid started talking animatedly with the man, who was apparently his friend. If Levi didn’t have better self-control, he could have swooned. Broad shoulders filling out his suit jacket so well he probably didn’t even need the shoulder pads, square jaw set in a happy grin complimenting his bright eyes, and then he took off his suit jacket and Levi’s head clonked against the bookshelf.

He looked even better with his shirtsleeves all rolled up.

When Levi looked up again, the man was gone.

* * *

“Oh, there you are!” Farlan said as Levi trudged into their hideout. “Isabel was starting to worry the coppers picked you up.”

Even in the lust-infused haze Levi had walked home in, he still had some capacity to feel offended. “Like they could catch up to me. I ditched him and …saw a newsreel. I hid in the theater a bit.”

Isabel planted her hands on her hips and declared, “I hope you didn’t eat any of _my_ candy in there!”

“I hope you didn’t lose any of that jewelry you’re trying on,” Levi shot back. Isabel pouted but immediately took off the gold necklace. “It was a close call to steal that.”

“I just wanted to know what it was like before we get our money.”

How could he blame Isabel? His first sip of Reeves Black Tea was from tea leaves he’d nicked from a bale hiding bottles of bootlegged hooch he was supposed to smuggle in.

He ruffled her hair gently before saying, “Just remember to put it all back before bed.”

Sleep usually came easy after a job. Once all the adrenaline drained away, what was left was aching muscles and exhaustion. Not tonight. Tonight, Levi was lying in his bunk staring up at the wooden slats above him. Farlan and Isabel’s snoring wasn’t any louder than normal: what kept him up was the image every time he closed his eyes of the university student at the library.

Chrissake, he wished Isabel weren’t sleeping in a bunk an arm’s length away.

His gut was stirring. Levi flopped over onto his stomach and tried to forget how badly he wanted him.

* * *

Trying to forget was a laughable effort.

The student wouldn’t get the hell out of Levi’s mind. He strolled in and out of his dreams, waking or not, smiling here, winking there, snapping his fingers to a jazzy tune. His lips moved but Levi had no voice to place to them, no color to place to those eyes. His brain could only hopelessly cycle through all the possibilities of what was waiting for him under that pressed shirt, those high-waisted slacks. One moment the dream had tanned abs and perky pink nipples, the next he was slight and bookish, but still oh so delightfully responsive when Levi’s tongue met them.

He craved to know more of him. His feet followed his heart and dick and before he knew it Levi was in the damn university library again. It was arguably the stupidest fucking thing he’d ever done, but here he was, pining miserably among the stacks hoping to catch even another glimpse of the man.

This was hopeless. It had been days since he’d last been here, Levi didn’t even remember what part of the library he’d seen this mirage in. He didn’t know what subject the man was studying or even if he was a student at all. He could be on the other side of the library. He could have been a foreign student jetting off back to Cambridge or Harvard or whatever fancy-fuck school was out there.

When Levi finally did turn a corner and see him again, his heart nearly stopped.

“ _Yes_ ,” he almost yelled. Almost. Instead he was careful to stay a few shelves distance away from him, pretending to read the titles of the books in front of him. He stole occasional glances at him, his student. Watched his tan hands caress the books, imaging those hands wrapped around his dick and pumping.

“You look so filthy, all hard for me,” Dream Student would pant in his ear, twisting just _so,_ the way Levi liked it.

Maybe the library wasn’t the best place to be having this fantasy. Levi refocused his efforts on memorizing the way his messy bangs swept across his forehead, the cowlick that stood up in the back and he’d love to wind his fingers through and tug on and hear him _mewl_.

All too soon, his obsession gathered several books in his arms and took them to the lobby and away out the door.

If only he had the balls to follow him.

Instead Levi returned to the library a few days later. And then again in another few days in between jobs. Pretty soon he was dragging his pathetic ass to the library once a week. In all this time, Levi learned several important facts:

1\. His student was studying archaeology. Levi found some pictures of mummies in one of the books in the shelves his student regularly trawled. That was archaeology, right?

2\. His student carried a thermos of coffee laden with more cream than coffee. Levi knew this because once his student had spilled it and Levi delighted in watching the white drops trickle down his chin.

(He was a little surprised he hasn’t been arrested from the library yet. Or banned.)

3\. His student had surprisingly fast reflexes. Levi has seen him accidentally knock things over and dive to catch them without blinking an eye. It was a skill he wouldn’t expect from a student. That somersault had really been something else.

What he still didn’t know after a month of stalking was his student’s name.

It was driving him fucking nuts.

Levi was fucking sick of waking up a moment away from coming with the angry frustration of not being able to call out his name, to imagine what he’d names call him curled up in front of a roaring fireplace with bootlegged wine to sip. He finally broke when he saw his student returning a book to the library. Levi watched as the librarian took the book and set the tome on a shelf.

A brilliant idea struck him.

All of Levi’s fake book-reading had taught him that library books had a scrap of lined paper glued inside where the borrowers apparently signed their names. If he got his hands on the books his student read, _he could find out his name_.

Levi was across the library in an instant, and the book was in his hands the next instant. He cracked open the book reverently, imaging a chorus of angels singing down on him as he finally learned the name of his love.

What the fuck was that scribble?

Levi turned the book upside down, hoping that would make it look like words.

Nope. His student was the type who wrote in script and Levi only just knew print letters.

For the first time in possibly his life, Levi wished he were a better reader. Usually he resigned it as a skill that wasn’t very necessary, but now he couldn’t decipher the scribble of his student’s signature. How else was he supposed to know his paramour’s name? Levi agonized over the page and finally decided that the questions Farlan would ask after he asked him to read the name for him would be worth it to put a name to his lips when he thought of his student at night.

He very smoothly got up out of his seat and slid the book into his vest. He’d bring it back as soon as he knew what secret name that signature held.

The entrance loomed ahead of him. Years of thieving to get through the Depression ( _thanks_ Herbert Hoover) had taught him well. Levi kept his head high, his pace moderate, the picture of casual and cool as he crossed the lobby. He was out the door. He was in the clear. He was suddenly feeling a weight on his shoulder that shouldn’t be there. And then he was being slammed against a brick wall.

Fuck fuck _fuck_.

Levi tried to struggle but was pushed harder against the wall, still wheezing from how hard he hit it. Large hands grabbed his wrists and held them still while his shiv was being slipped from his waistband.

“You fuckers,” he spat when he could breathe again.

“Tut tut,” a man with a smooth, oily voice said. “Such foul language.”

“Piss off!”

“Not without that textbook,” the voice continued. His vest was wrenched apart—clacking echoed down the hall as his buttons popped off—and the weight of the book was gone. “It’s a first edition.”

 _I don’t care_ , Levi wanted to snap but he held back. “You got your damn precious book back, now let me go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the voice said. “That text was valuable university property. I couldn’t let you go without alerting the authorities.”

Levi couldn’t help it; he went rigid. He knew it was fucking stupid to let a weakness show like that but all he could think about was his family and how Isabel and Farlan needed him or the other gangs would eat them alive. The other man must have noticed because he murmured, “Mike,” and suddenly the pressure was off Levi’s back. He was allowed to step away from the wall but this Mike jackass’ hands were still clamped down on his wrist.

He saw the oily-voiced man for the first time. Monstrously tall, blonde hair slicked back, sleeve hanging empty on one side. Fake-ass smile plastered on his face, eyes cold and blue as he leaned in to speak again.

“You have two options young man,” Blondie said. Damn the bastard for taking his shiv because Levi wanted nothing more than to jam it in his belly for calling him that. “We can bring you to the police for theft. Or. There’s the second option.”

The bastard let the words hang in the air for a second. Of course Levi never had a choice. He repressed a growl of anger when he asked, “What’s the second option?”

* * *

Levi shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Those words had unleased hell. Blondie—Erwin Smith, head of the Archaeology Department it turned out—had insisted on fitting him in some ridiculous clothes before attending to this “little summer job” he’d been proposed instead of jail. Levi was almost glad he hadn’t been allowed to go home yesterday because he didn’t want Isabel and Farlan to see him decked out like a rich brat about to go boating. He felt stupid in this getup. And he knew there were even more stupid clothes in the rucksack Blondie had given him.

But it was mildly better than jail, Levi decided sitting in Blondie’s office. At least, it looked better for now before he’d met Blondie’s graduate student that Levi had to assist. Levi could imagine it now: some snotty-nosed asshole used to having everything presented on a silver platter, who would order Levi around, and make him fetch his drinks from the clubhouse. Disgusting.

He’d already painted a mental (and unflattering) picture of what this awful grad student would look like when the door to the office opened.

“Well, here he is: your new assistant.”

It was _him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the Indiana Jones AU no one asked for! The title is a reference to Howard Carter's answer when someone asked him if he saw anything in Tutankhamun's tomb.


	2. Summer Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi finds out the details of his punishment.

Was this some kind of practical joke? Was his lustful staring so fucking noticeable that someone watching would think up this cruel prank? How had Levi gone from pining over a mystery man in the library to being manhandled into working for him? Levi was suddenly glad he hadn’t gone with the going-to-the-big-house option, this was _much_ better. (All thoughts of escaping once he was set free on the job had now evaporated.)

Maybe this was another one of his erotic dreams. Any second now his student would be bending him over the Department Head’s desk eager to fuck him.

Instead, the dream student stuck out a hand and said, “I’m Eren Jaeger, nice to meet you.”

There was no static when the godly apparition standing before him said his name, so this meant it wasn’t a dream. At last. A name for the face. If only it hadn’t cost him this much trouble.

“Levi,” he answered. He placed his hand in Eren’s warm hand and shook it once. It was probably just his imagination (which had proven itself to be very active these last few weeks) but Levi felt like the touch lingered. As if Eren didn’t want to let go any more than Levi did.

But he did, and sat down in the chair next to Levi’s. Blondie sat down on the other side of his huge desk and started to explain, “Eren has been conducting a very important dig that he will need help with for a few weeks. Our plan is…”

Levi tuned the rest out. He didn’t give a crap about the moldy old crap rich people worried about. As long as Isabel and Farlan would be okay, he’d do whatever Eren asked him to for the next two weeks and that would be that. Then he could go home and be more careful so shit like this never happened again.

Of course, it wouldn’t be anything to sneeze at if he and Eren happened to become close during this trip. Just saying.

Blondie startled him by standing up, declaring, “Well, that should just about settle everything. I’ll leave it to you, I do believe you have a flight to catch.”

Levi followed Eren out of the office, rucksack in hand. They walked in silence down the halls of the university for a while before Eren spoke up.

“So, Levi. How long have you been assisting digs?”

Fuck.

“This is the first time,” Levi said. Eren smiled brightly. How he’d longed to see that smile, but with the awkward conversation he couldn’t even enjoy it.

“Oh, so you’re just getting into archaeology? Have you started classes yet? Or are you trying to get experience with a summer job before you commit to the major?”

Why did the man of his dreams have to ask so many questions that made Levi look like a nitwit? This was not the debonair Cary Grant impression he’d wanted to make on his angel. Goddamn that Blondie, he’d never told him what the cover story for Levi being on this dig was. He went with, “I’m doing this as a favor for Blo-Erwin. I don’t usually do archaeology.”

“Oh, so what do you do?”

Life couldn’t allow him to have any happiness. You simply couldn’t tell the man you were interested in that you were a professional thief. One who got caught trying to swipe his things. There was just no positive way to spin that.

He went with, “I help my clients collect shit they’re owed.”

“Like a debt collector?”

That was good enough. “Part time,” Levi said so it would feel like less of a lie. And sometimes he was stealing from people who owed a mob family money so it wasn’t as if debt collector was a completely wrong title. Eren must have believed that, because he nodded and slipped a set of keys from his pocket as they approached a parking lot.

He unlocked the door to one of the cars as he asked, “Do you have everything you’ll need for the trip?”

“Sure,” Levi said. He did have the rucksack Blondie had given him.

“Well, if you need anything else I can swing by your house and we can pick it up.”

“Then there is something I need from you,” Levi said. There had been such a mad rush since he’d been caught yesterday and those dicks hadn’t given him a chance to contact Isabel and Farlan about what was going on. He traded one of his new shirts to a storeowner he knew to pass the message on to Farlan that he was fine, he had a solo job lined up, but he would be back in two weeks. He hoped they wouldn’t worry too much while he was away with Eren.

He returned to Eren’s car, where he was waiting patiently and whistling. Hot damn, just looking at those pursed, shiny-with-spit lips was enough to make Levi’s heart jump in his chest.

“Did you buy what you needed?” Eren asked, totally oblivious.

“Yeah.”

“So you’re ready for the airport?”

“Sure.”

A beat.

“The what?”

* * *

The tiny little plane he’d been led to at the airport looked like it was about to fall apart. His first plane ride and they expected him to get in that thing that looked like a matchbox on wheels. Levi started reconsidering prison while Eren bickered with the pilot and called him a horseface. The fight apparently got resolved because the next thing he knew, Eren was gesturing toward the open door of the plane.

His vocal cords felt paralyzed as he stumbled into the tiny thing. Levi clumsily tried to follow Eren’s lead as he buckled himself into his seat. Fucking hell, how had he ended up in this situation? He was gripping his seatbelt tight as the propeller started spinning and the plane started to roll down the runway.

Oh Jesus, this was the worst moment of his life. The faster the plane moved the faster his heart was racing, then there was a horrible dropping feeling of the wheels lifting off the ground. Levi struggled to swallow the spit pooling in his mouth. Eventually the plane stopped tilting and straightened out. Levi felt less like he was about to die now that the plane was stable. Eren was chit-chatting with the pilot again so he cautiously looked out the window.

The city was already almost behind them. There was a gray smudge on the ground and Levi could just barely see buildings and little cars driving around. Ahead of them was a sight Levi only could have dreamed of before. Clean fields stretched out ahead of them, green and bright with rows of corn and wheat. Trees dotted the landscape in between the farms. It was amazing.

“Don’t you just love flying?” Eren asked, leaning back over toward him.

“It’s not bad,” Levi admitted.

“We have a good five or six hours before we get there,” he said. Lord help him, that beautiful face was leaning toward him, voice raised to be heard over the rushing wind and propeller. He barely understood Eren announcing, “I know Erwin discussed the travel and work plans but I was hoping I could talk to you a little bit about my research so you’ll be prepared to get to work as soon as we land.”

Oh right. He was supposed to do hard labor at the dig to make up for trying to steal that stupid textbook.

“Fire away,” Levi said. Eren smiled. Somewhere a puppy was dying of jealousy, because nothing could be cuter than this dollface right here.

“I’m excavating a site in the Walled City. Have you heard of it?”

The Walled City? “I’ve heard some old fairy tales. Isn’t it like Atlantis, or some other baloney.”

“The people of the Walled City were advanced like in Atlantis, by the Walled City is real,” Eren said with another smile. “Believe me, I’ve been there. I’ve been digging there for a few years. But every time I bring back artifacts and research them I don’t find exactly what I’m looking for. There’s something specific I want to find there for my dissertation. It’s very important. That’s what I need your help with.”

That seemed suspicious to Levi. Why the hell would they hire some random thug like him to help find a mysterious and special artifact that no one else had managed to find? What the hell kind of archaeological skill could he possibly bring here? He wondered how good of an archaeologist Erwin was, if he was making mistakes like this. Or Eren.

Whatever. He was promised his freedom if he helped the dig, no one said he had to bring shit back. If they failed to find their precious artifact that wasn’t his fault. He’d get through these weeks, maybe become friends with Eren, and then he’d be home free, never mind how poorly planned out this trip seemed to be.

“So let me give you a little background about the site,” Eren continued. This time Levi listened, if only to enjoy the happy look on Eren’s face describing his research. The things Eren was saying still sounded kind of like fairy tales, but at least it helped while away the hours they spent in the air.

Before he knew it, the pilot was announcing, “We’re about to land.”

Landing was a little less terrifying now that Levi had already been through a successful taking off, even if they were landing on a tiny strip of land out in the mountains. Before he knew it, Levi was putting his feet on solid ground again.

Thank the lord. Levi grabbed his rucksack and followed Eren to a truck, where a woman was waiting for them.

“Ooh, who’s this?” the woman asked. She stared curiously at Levi, eyes so wide she looked kind of creepy. The light glinting off her goggles didn’t help make her look any saner.

“This is Levi, he’s assisting me with the dig.” Eren turned to him and added, “And this is Zoë Hange. She’s another researcher with the university. She’s part of the advisory committee for my PhD.”

“Fantastic,” Levi said. Whatever that meant.

“Call me Hange,” Hange insisted. “Now get in the truck! I’m eager to get back to the dig!”

Levi believed that, since she was bouncing on the balls of her feet like a five-year-old. He sat in the backseat of the Citroën four-wheel truck with his rucksack. He saw the dig site long before they drove up to it. The walls were fucking enormous, nearly a hundred fifty feet tall. At least the parts that were left over were. There were lots of downed sections and rubble piled near the existing wall. The crashed parts were enough that Levi could just barely see the second wall Eren had described—Rosé—already.

As they got closer, Levi saw the tents spread out haphazardly next to the wall. His skin crawled a little at the thought of sleeping in a dirty, hot tent for the next two weeks. On the bright side, since he’d never put a tent together before, he got to watch Eren do his instead. That was a great sight to see. He’d thought Eren looked good in his suits but the bush shirt complimented him well. Levi loved being able to see Eren’s bicep flex.

God bless short sleeves.

“Okay, it’s done!” Eren announced and straightened up. What a shame. “You can put your things away, then we can get to the dig!”

A crying shame.

Hange drove to the outermost wall where one particularly large hole stood. Unlike the other holes that just looked like the wall had crumbled apart, this looked like someone had set some dynamite to it. Eren twisted around in his seat to inform Levi, “We’re not sure just how old this damage is, or what caused it. But the first four gates on the south side of the city look like this.”

The hole-that-used-to-be-a-gate was wide enough for the truck to drive through and enter a small walled area. Hange made a loud, high-pitched noise before tacking on, “But the inner two are totally intact! Well, not the pulley systems those rusted too badly to keep using but we can see what the outer gates must have looked like! And what we’re driving through right now was an old city!”

Levi might not have been an archaeologist, but between the roads and foundations that must have been houses he could have figured that out by himself. They passed through the city in no time flat, reached the next destroyed gate, and zipped through it. Now that the group was in the countryside of the inner walls. Levi could see hordes of people milling around, digging. There were stakes poked into the ground everywhere, ropes snagging their way through the poles. They passed another destroyed gate, drove through another city, more pastures, and then a huge structure loomed ahead of them.

“I never get tired of driving up to this gate,” Eren sighed. There was the exposed tunnel to the next part of the countryside, but next to it a massive piece of wood that looked like a shield with a lighter patch in the middle rested against the wall.

“The first researchers here found that almost blocking the inner gate. The chains in the pulley system rusted out so it had to be set next to the wall for anyone to access the innermost walls by car.”

So now they were in Sina, the part of the wall that Eren had told him was where the rich had lived. More of the houses and buildings stood here, the stone structures more durable than the wooden houses of the outer districts. There was even a building that looked like a fairy tale castle. Eventually Hange parked and the group got out.

“Here’s my dig site!” Eren declared proudly. Stakes lined a large patch that led up to the northernmost section of the wall surrounding the castle.

“Ready to get dirty?” Eren asked as he rooted around in the trunk.

Levi wanted to say no, but the threat of jail made him say, “Yes.”

Eren fetched a bag from the trunk of the truck and then he beckoned Levi to join him. He stepped over the cords marking off plots of the site until Eren held out a hand to stop him.

“Let me show you how you should be digging,” Eren said, settling into a seated position in the dirt. He selected a small trowel from his bag and motioned for Levi to sit. He reluctantly sat down too, cringing at how much dust was going to stick to his prissy pants. They were stupid, but Levi preferred them clean.

Of course, it was hard to worry about the pants when Eren was trying to show him how to use the little trowels and brushes carefully to avoid damaging anything. Since Levi had never been good at delicate tasks, this led to a situation that he absolutely had to exploit where Eren had to guide his hands to show him just how gently this needed to be done.

Oh, how Levi regretted losing that warm touch when Eren smiled, said, “You got it!” and let go. Levi considered doing a shit job all day to keep Eren guiding him. But he also was finding himself working hard even through the blazing heat because he wanted Eren to smile at him again.

At least he got to stick close to Eren during the day because he was his assistant. Unfortunately, Eren was the type who fell silent when he got absorbed in his tasks. He was quiet and focused on his digging. Somehow, that made him look even sexier to Levi. Here was a man who was so passionate he would dedicate every fiber of his being to the task at hand.

He wondered what that single-minded determination would look like if he had Eren writhing under him. Or if he was on his back under Eren. Hell, he’d be happy with either situation. Now the heat wasn’t the only thing to blame for the sweat gathering on Levi’s temple.

* * *

It was a welcome relief, a few hours later, when Eren stood up, brushed the dirt off his ass, and declared, “Let’s take a break! We don’t want to get dehydrated!”

They were drinking bottled water in the shade when a woman approached them. Short and blonde with a nose that was unfortunately large. She leaned up against the wall next to Eren, who seemed awfully pleased to see her.

“Annie!” he said cheerfully. For some weird reason, Levi felt cold watching her and Eren, even though his shirt was grossly soaked with sweat. Annie’s eyes flicked over to Levi before she opened her mouth and said something totally incomprehensible. Whatever it was, it sounded harsh and Levi wondered if he should be offended.

Eren, meanwhile, laughed and said something back in whatever language this was. Levi was pretty sure he heard his name in there though. The woman said something and Eren shook his head, muttering, “Nein, nein.”

German, then. Levi didn’t know Eren spoke German. Learning more about him should have made Levi happy the way it always did, but he was just left feeling mildly sick instead watching them chatting. Levi was starting to feel more and more uncomfortable. He was grateful when she left.

They were back in the dirt when Levi found the cojones to ask, “So, was she another one of your assistants?”

“No,” Eren answered. “Annie’s with another dig.”

“I thought this was your dig,” Levi asked.

Eren shook his head, and said, “The Walled City is too big for one person to excavate. Not to mention it’s an important historical site. We aren’t the only scientists interested in it. There are researchers from lots of universities here. Some other countries too.”

“So, Annie’s from Germany?”

“We both have German grandparents,” Eren corrected. “But it’s nice to speak our own language sometimes. It kind of makes me feel like I’m at home.”

“Makes sense,” Levi said. They kept digging quietly, but something was nagging at Levi.

“How do you know one of those other diggers hasn’t picked up the thing you’re looking for?” he asked. Eren shuddered.

“Don’t make me consider the possibility.”

He was quiet for a while and Levi helped him brush dirt away from the shard of clay buried in the ground before them.

“I think we would have heard if someone found it,” Eren mumbled. Jesus, were they looking for the Holy Grail or something? What piece of broken vase could be so important that the whole archaeological world would be talking about it?

* * *

At the end of the day, Levi was exhausted, sweaty, and muddy where dust had mingled with his sweat. If he hadn’t been famished after a day of hard labor in the sun, traveling by plane and truck, he would have thrown himself straight into the river running through the walls. Instead, he joined the other archaeologists by the campfire where another assistant—Levi heard someone call him Moblit—was roasting some sausages and warming cans of beans.

Levi ignored whatever Hange and Eren were enthusing about to shovel his food down his throat as fast as possible. The sooner he was done, the sooner he could starting thinking about, “What’s the bath situation like around here?”

“We have a river,” Hange said.

“We brought some soap,” Eren added. “We can head over after we’re done eating.”

We? _We?_

It was a fucking dream come true. Levi could barely contain his excitement as he carried his towel and pajamas toward the river. He could have done with less people polluting the water, but being able to scrub his hair and skin after two long, bathless days was going to be heavenly.

What was also heavenly was seeing Eren strip down to his skivvies.

His earlier fantasies had been correct: Eren wasn’t bookish or slight at all. Now he was no Hercules, but he had a fair amount of definition in his muscles. Levi tried not to stare too much (there _were_ laws against that sort of thing), but he did file away a lot of information he would take to heart later in the privacy of his own tent. Like just how much Eren’s delectable ass curved out.

Eren dunked under the surface and then popped back up, rivulets of water running down his chest. Levi barely heard him say, “The water feels _so good_ after such a hot day!”

Levi quickly slipped into the river to hide certain things while Eren waded back to the bank to get the soap. Levi was unbelievably grateful for a simple bar of soap so he could clean himself. Since they appeared to have a number of soap bars, Levi gave his shirt and pants of the day a quick rinse too. He hung the wrung shirt and pants from his tent when they got back.

For once, Levi got a good night’s sleep. Well, there wasn’t that much sleep. It _was_ the first time he’d had a private bedroom since… his entire life. You couldn’t blame him for taking some well-deserved time alone with his dick and imagination.

* * *

As the days wore on, Eren left him alone during the digs more to let Levi “gain more experience”. Levi didn’t need it, but Eren seemed to think he was being nice so he let it go. He got gain more carnal experience bathing with the man every night, so he couldn’t complain that much.

He also couldn’t complain about his sudden privacy. True, the walls of his tent were rather thin but he was alone in the tent and he could bite down on his sleeping bag whenever the need to cry out overtook him. And boy, did Levi take advantage of that.

This was one such night, where Levi was engaged in a wonderful dream. In the dream, moonlight streamed into his tent as the flaps were pushed open. Eren strode in, that bush shirt of his the only thing covering him. Fuck, Levi was practically drooling over those long, chiseled legs. Dream-Eren sashayed over to him, slipping that bush shirt over his shoulders, tanned muscles he’d ogled in the river flexing. He leaned over Levi’s sleeping bag stark naked, and whispered in his ear, “I want to ride your dick, Levi.”

“Please,” Levi mumbled back. Eren threw a leg over Levi’s body and straddled his waist. That should have been sexy but instead Levi was struggling to breathe. His eyes sprang open, only to see Eren’s face over him, his arms planted on Levi’s pecs, and his weight crushing his chest.

Fuck. _This wasn’t a dream_.

Eren sat back, lifting his hands off Levi’s chest again. He took in deep breaths, almost missing when Eren whispered, “Levi, can you help me?”

Levi sat up, aching lungs forgotten, happy to be face to face with Eren, mouths inches apart.

“I can help you with _whatever_ you want.”


	3. Caught In the Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get caught.

_“I can help you with whatever you want.”_

“Good,” Eren breathed. Levi felt the ghost of his breath on his lips. There was also the delightful feeling of Eren shifting around on his lap. He could just imagine all the things Eren might need help with: a boner that needed attention, erect nipples that needed to be licked, an ass that needed to be squeezed, a— “Then you’ll come with me out to the dig site?”

Maybe Eren was trying to play a kinky game with him? And they’d make love in the dig site, even if the dirt was disgusting as hell? (It _would_ keep them hidden from prying eyes. Maybe they’d just have fun in the parked truck. That was how most of Levi’s prior sexual encounters had gone down.)

It was a hope Levi tried to keep alive as he dressed and joined Eren in the Citroën. Eren drove slowly and with the lights off as they slipped into the Walled City. Obviously they weren’t supposed to be here at night since Eren was making every effort to get in undetected. His hopes of getting fucked were starting to die when Eren pulled out a flashlight and led Levi to the deepest part of their dig site.

“Earlier today I found something,” Eren whispered. “I wanted to keep it quiet though so I stashed it in this crack.”

So this _was_ just archaeology crap. Levi tried not to look disappointed as he followed him down. Eren clicked on his flashlight, illuminating a crack in the wall, a yard or two below the surface of the dirt. The horizontal crack was less than a yard wide and about twice as wide as his palm. Eren shone the light on the crack and motioned for Levi to peer through.

“You hid your artifact in a tunnel?” It was hard to see in this light, but it was clear the crack wasn’t a crack at all; it was a passage into a tunnel, block off by two thousand years of dirt piling up.

“Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time,” Eren shrugged. He lifted a shovel. “Plus, I wanted to check out the rest of the tunnel! Now let’s get it out!”

This was even weirder. They’d never used shovels on any other part of the site. To preserve delicate artifacts, he’d been told. A part of Levi wondered if maybe he shouldn’t be helping Eren carefully shift some dirt back into the dig site until the crack turned into a man-shaped hole.

“I’ll go first,” Eren whispered. Levi wouldn’t admit how glad he was to hear that. He really didn’t want to climb down that fucking disgusting cobweb-and-dirt-filled hole. The flashlight was handed to Levi, who aimed it into the tunnel while Eren crawled inside it. He sure hoped Eren didn’t expect him to join him in that fucking thing.

“Levi, come down here!”

Levis heaved a sigh before he tossed the flashlight to Eren, then slowly shimmyied into the hole and dropped down to the floor. Eren was already midway down the tunnel, looking around excitedly. There was a bag tied to his belt loops.

“Is that the thing?” Levi asked, pointing at the bag. Eren didn’t seem to hear him, sweeping the flashlight over the tunnel.

“None of the texts from this time period have every mentioned anything about what’s underneath the Walled City!” Eren exclaimed excitedly. He whipped a notebook out of his satchel and started scribbling as he cried out, “This is amazing! I feel like Howard Carter!”

“Are you sure you’re not standing in an ancient sewer?” Levi asked. He didn’t really want to walk on fossilized shit.

“The Walled City didn’t have a sewer system,” Eren said. He shut his notebook and started walking down the tunnel. “They were more medieval than anything, the sewage just went in the streets. C’mon, we have to explore this!”

Fuck, he’d _walked_ on those streets. He’d brushed the ancient shit off those cobblestones. Gross.

Eren had the light so Levi trudged after him down the musty, humid corridor. Levi had been right about the cobwebs. Luckily, since Eren was leading the way he was the one who kept getting caught in them. It was weird though. The tunnel wasn’t cobbled like some of the other unearthed streets Levi had seen. This was mostly bare rock, like the city had been built on top of a system of caves.

The cave theory Levi was tossing around seemed even more likely when their little corridor ended and they found themselves in an enormous cavern.

Eren’s “WHOA” and Levi’s “Holy shit” echoed throughout the cave. The light from the flashlight bounced off the walls as Eren looked out over it. Stalactites and stalagmites towered over the cavern. Levi thought he heard water dripping somewhere, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. It was pitch black down here.

“Just look at it!” Eren wailed. “Wow! People _clearly_ lived here. Look,” Eren pointed out over the maze of old crumbling stone buildings, some just foundation, some carved into the rocks. “That looks like a market! I wonder who ended up living down here. This is incredible!”

Eren pulled his sketchbook back out, stammering, “Let me draw this, hang on!”

Levi chose to stand next to Eren while he sat on an old wall to record what he’d found. He held the flashlight so Eren had light to draw by, and when Eren asked him to he aimed the beam at the structures the other man was looking at. The view was excellent, and Levi was not talking about the ancient underground city. Eren’s tongue poked lasciviously out of his mouth as he drew away. He was making humming noises too that Levi could just imagine as filthy if he closed his eyes. But with his eyes closed, he couldn’t see that delightfully focused look on Eren’s face again that Levi loved.

“Jesus, this thing is huge,” Levi muttered when he realized the caverns probably went on even further.

“Excavating this will take years,” Eren agreed. Another happy grin took over his face. “Perfect for a post-doc.” He patted the bag on his waist, “Hopefully after I defend this dissertation.”

Levi was about to ask what exactly was in that bag but before he could, Eren stood up abruptly.

“It’s starting to get close to sunrise,” he said. Levi trusted that Eren had checked his watch recently since there was no natural light down here. “We’ll have to come back later. You ready to head back for now?”

Levi had been ready to get out of this dank, dark pit since the minute they’d gotten in here. He just wasn’t going to tell Eren that. He enjoyed giving Eren a boost back up the crack they’d snuck in through, at last having a moment to ogle his ass without fear. Eren helped pull him up and then the two were trekking back to the truck in the light of dawn.

“I still can’t believe it!” Eren was gushing. Every step he took was light. “I can’t believe we found it!”

“Found what, Eren?”

It was Annie, leaning up against their Citroën. Two goons flanked her, a tall and sweaty man and a shorter, stocky blond man. They were caught. Eren froze in his tracks, sweat breaking out on his brow. Levi couldn’t even take a minute to enjoy knowing what that looked like, because his suspicions about the fact that they were sneaking around were confirmed.

Well, at least that explained the mystery of why he was on the dig. A thief apparently fit in well around here.

Annie took a step forward and said, “What’s in the bag?” while pointing toward Eren’s waist.

Eren remained silent. She turned toward Levi, and repeated, “What’s in the bag?”

“Hell if I know,” Levi replied. Annie took another threatening step forward. The other two members of her posse stepped forward too. Levi looked over at Eren for some clue on what to do next, since he’d gotten them into this mess. Eren refused to meet his eyes.

“You found the crown, now hand it over,” Annie insisted.

“Annie, what the hell!” Eren insisted. “This isn’t like you!”

“Our family has been after the crown’s power for generations, it’s ours. Hand it over.”

Eren’s brow screwed up. “Your father runs a general store, what does he need a crown for?” he asked in confusion.

“Don’t play stupid! You know as well as I do what that thing is worth, and the family we joined will do anything to get it back where it belongs. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hand it over before I have to kick your ass to get it back.”

Levi watched Eren carefully to see what he was going to do next. Suddenly, a hand shoved him in the back toward the truck and Eren yelled, “RUN!”

No one had to tell that to Levi twice. He scrambled in the passenger seat and barely managed to close the door before Eren was tearing off across the Walled countryside. Levi looked in the rearview mirror and saw another truck bearing down on them.

“Why the hell are they chasing us?” Levi shouted. Eren only swore in response and drove faster. The needle of the speedometer wavered dangerously at the maximum speed. Everything passing by out the window was just a blur. They made it out the gates of Wall Rosé before the other car got close enough for the trio of psychos to use those guns.

The windshield had cracked, Levi took over driving, and that was the whole pathetic story leading up to their mad chase through the mountains.

It was obviously the fault of the library. If they didn’t care so damn much about their books being borrowed none of this would have happened.

But because they were pricks, Levi had ended up here, steering the truck through the smashed-up gate of Wall Maria and tearing through the archaeologist Hooverville. Eren must have run out of bullets at that point because he crawled back into the truck and tossed the gun in the backseat.

“Take the road UP the mountain, they’ll never expect that!” Eren shouted at him. “We can double around later to get to the air strip!”

Levi turned the wheel sharply as they reached the fork in the road ahead of them. The two right wheels lifted off the ground as the truck tore around the corner. Eren fell face-first into Levi’s lap when the wheels crashed back to the ground.

“Good job,” he said woozily. Levi couldn’t even enjoy Eren’s face in his crotch because he was too busy navigating all the sharps turns on the mountain while trying not to kill the both of them. There were still some gunshots snapping branches on the trees above them so Annie was obviously still following. Goddammit.

This would have been a lot easier if Levi knew how to drive.

“Slow down around the bends,” Eren wheezed from Levi’s thigh.

“How do I do that?”

It was a moot question anyway. Because that was the moment Levi lost control of the truck. It skidded around one corner too many and suddenly the road was slipping away from them. The Citroën bounced off a tree before sliding down the mountain side. It was picking up steam as it slid through the mud.

“HIT THE BRAKES!” Eren was screaming. Levi stomped around a few times on the floor of the car with his left foot—“That’s the clutch! The middle one, the middle pedal!”—but the truck kept skidding down the slope, tree branches snapping as the vehicle started to roll.

Levi barely had the time to feel grateful that he’d clicked his seatbelt on some time in between the walls; the straps tightened and held him down securely in the truck even as if flipped upside down, right side up, back to upright. Eren wound his arms tight around Levi’s waist and held on for dear life. There was a lot of loud screaming, that wasn’t him, wasit?

The Citroën stopped rolling when the mountainside evened out into a valley. As soon as Levi’s world tilted back the right way and the dizziness calmed down, he undid the seatbelt and kicked the truck door open.

The two of them stumbled out of the wrecked vehicle, bruised and bloody. It took so much effort just to push their aching bodies to step away from the truck. As they were leaning on each other, catching their breaths, the Citroën exploded. Hot air and flames bombarding the both of them. Once the smoke cleared away, Levi looked at Eren’s soot-covered face, hair blown back behind him from the force of the explosion. He also appeared to be missing half of one eyebrow.

Eren spit out a tooth before announcing, “I guess we’re walking from here on out.”


	4. Fireflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren struggle with life on the lam.

Maybe it was because of the shock of being in a high-speed car chase, then a car crash off the side of a fucking mountain, followed by an explosion, but it took about an hour of hiking with Eren through the mountains before Levi stopped to wonder, “What the _fuck_ , Eren? What the hell was that!?”

Eren scratched the back of his windblown hair sheepishly. Some soot shook out as he said, “Well, that artifact I found is _kind of_ important so a lot of groups want it?”

Levi grabbed Eren by his dirty collar and yanked the bastard down so he could be eye-to-eye with him. “You almost got me killed for some moldy old pot?”

“It’s not a pot, it’s a talisman,” Eren said, looking unperturbed. He was lisping a little, probably from that disgusting lost tooth. Levi could see the gap in his mouth. “It’s supposed to have supernatural powers. That’s why so many people want it. And why I wanted to keep it quiet.”

Somehow that made Levi even angrier.

“You almost got me killed for some supposedly-magical old pot?”

If anything was going to kill Levi’s Eren-worship, here it was. After all the shit he’d gone through to survive his awful childhood and there were people willing to risk their lives for some pot from an old wives tale? Sickening.

“It’s important to me,” Eren said petulantly. Levi just let go of his collar, disappointment coursing through him.

“Whatever you say, Aladdin.”

They started walking again; after a few minutes had passed Levi asked, “So where are we headed now? Back to base camp?”

“Well, before we destroyed the truck the plan was to double around Annie and outrace her back to the plane so we could get the talisman to the university. But now I’m sure she’s got someone posted there to wait for us.”

Levi had a nasty feeling about this. That nasty feeling was one hundred percent confirmed when Eren finished with, “This isn’t happening like I planned. I don’t know what to do now.”

“So,” Levi said. “We’re lost out in the middle of the fucking mountains, hundreds of miles away from home, and you have no clue how to get back.”

Just _perfect_. Eren’s shoulders hunched.

“We were supposed to be able to smuggle it back home easily.”

Smuggling? Oh yeah, that explained it. He was supposed to lend his thieving skills to this operation. It all made sense now, why a thug was hired to do archaeological work. And here he’d thought Blondie was just a dumbass.

Eren muttered something again, so quietly Levi almost didn’t hear. “I never expected Annie to do that to me.”

For someone who’d just claimed to lose some of his mindless worship for Eren, Levi’s stomach was heaving awfully stupidly at that. He should not have given a rat’s ass about the crushed slump of Eren’s shoulders, but the heartbroken look on his face still made Levi’s mouth feel sour. All for a woman.

“At least you still have your magic pot. Plus most of your teeth. Plenty of women will still have you,” Levi said. He tried to be comforting and patted Eren’s back. He regretted it when more soot exploded out of his shirt. “Once you take a bath and get all the soot out of your hair.”

Eren flushed. “I don’t…” he stammered, then clammed up.

“So you don’t know what we’re doing to get out of here,” Levi said. He looked around them. Still stuck on a mountain, no money, no supplies, car blown up, but in the distance he saw a plume of smoke. A sharp whistle echoed through the valley. “Eren, do you know how far away the railroads are from here?”

Eren shook his head. “I’ve seen them out the window of the plane, so I know they’re north of our site. But we never use the train so I can’t say for sure how far away they are.”

The idea was forming in Levi’s mind.

“Erladdin, I can get us and your magic lamp out of here. You’ll have to follow my lead.”

“Sure,” Eren replied. “But do you have to call me that?”

“Let’s go, Erladdin.” Levi ignored Eren’s sigh. “We’ll follow the smoke from the train north,” he decided. “The tracks should run through the valley so we’ll catch up eventually. The tracks will have to lead to a town.”

From a town, they could at least get directions on how to get home. They set out again, struggling through the brush. Levi really regretted the fact that it was summer as the sun started to climb high in the sky. He could feel the sweat running down his back. There were trails in the soot on Eren’s face which disgusted Levi. And made him fear for his own face. He never thought he would miss bathing in a river, but the archaeologist camp was starting to look like Buckingham Palace.

“I really wish I’d brought some food,” Eren panted. “And water.”

“Rub on your magic lamp and wish for some,” Levi replied. He slapped at a fly trying to buzz around his face. “Some for me too.”

That was the last of the conversation for a while. Levi’s throat ached from thirst. He could drink from a pond right now and not care about disease he was so thirsty. Suddenly, Eren let out a garbled shout and went running off into the trees.

Oh great. Eren had lost his mind in the sun.

“LEBWI!”

Why did it sound like Eren’s mouth was stuffed? (And why did his brain jump to the thought of Eren’s mouth stuffed with something else? So maybe his Eren-worship wasn’t as dead as he thought.)

“COME HERE.”

It was probably a bad idea to follow that madman’s screeching, but Levi followed anyway. The heat had probably addled his brain too. When he reached Eren, the other man was sitting under a tree and munching furiously. He didn’t bother stopping eating whatever he was eating when he saw Levi; he just pointed up instead. A bright flash of red met his eyes when Levi tilted his head back.

He wasn’t even aware of reaching up to snatch it down from the branch, Levi was just suddenly aware of a burst of juice in his mouth as he bit in. He moaned; Eren was moaning shamelessly too. Thank God for apples, they were the best fruit. Levi downed five of them before stopping to take a breather.

“I’m so glad I saw these!” Eren wailed.

“Let’s take more for later,” Levi suggested. Eren shoved as many apples as he could fit in the bag holding his magic lamp. They were both reluctant to leave the shade of the apple tree, but they had to keep moving. Later that afternoon when they got overheated again, those apples were a godsend.

“Hmm,” Eren suddenly said. He made a strange face, working his lower jaw around.

“What the hell are you doing? Apple peel caught in your teeth?”

A disturbed look took over Eren’s face. He sounded deeply confused as he muttered, “My tooth is back.”

Levi squinted at his mouth.

“Look!” Eren said and opened his mouth for Levi to see. He poked a dirty finger at one of his teeth. “I swear I lost this tooth earlier today. After the truck crashed.”

A shudder racked Levi’s body as he remembered Eren spitting that out. And seeing the bleeding gap sometime earlier. “I remember, you did lose a tooth.”

“Then what on earth…”

“You must have lost a different tooth,” Levi assured him. “One of the back ones?”

A lump formed on Eren’s face and moved around as he ran his tongue over his teeth. He shook his head.

“I don’t feel any empty spaces. It’s like my tooth grew back. But that can’t… I guess I just chipped one of my teeth and spat out the chip?”

That sounded reasonable. And it was comforting to Levi to think that that tooth was not quite so disgusting if it was only a piece of a tooth. That made it slightly better.

They kept trudging on across the valley. It was late evening, when they finally crested a hill and saw a little town across from a lake. As they started walking toward the town Eren asked, “So we’re going to go find the train information now?”

“First we are going to that lake and bathing because I’m fucking tired of being sweaty and sooty,” Levi corrected. The clothes would have to stay disgusting for now because it would probably look even more suspicious if they were walking around dripping wet. They already looked like they’d been in an explosion. Or a coal mine.

At least clean faces were a little less suspicious when they walked into town. They didn’t get any odd looks. Hell, there were a number of people in clothing just as disgusting as theirs so it didn’t appear to grab any attention. Good. No one was staring when Levi casually bumped into a man and relieved him of his wallet.

“Where do you think we’ll find out about the train?” Eren asked.

Levi pointed and said, “Let’s check the general store. We can get supplies too.”

A bell jangled as they entered the store. While Eren was busy looking at the vegetables Levi carefully counted what was in the stolen wallet. There was enough to be able to buy enough non-perishable food and bottled water to last them a few days. He could spend the last couple cents on a bar of soap.

“Do we really need that?” Eren asked as they approached the store owner.

“If we get an infected wound we’ll be dead. Soap is damn important.”

And he was planning on washing his clothes in the lake tonight. Also important.

“Good evening,” the storeowner said when they were at the register. “Is this everything?”

Levi nodded. As the clerk was placing their things in a bag, he asked, “We’re a little lost. Where’s the nearest train station?”

“Well if you leave town and take the north fork…”

When he was done explaining the route Levi said, “Thanks.”

The clerk named their total. Eren looked vaguely nauseous at the number, but Levi slid over the dough. Eren kept his mouth shut until they were on the outskirts of town by the lake to sleep for the night. But once they got there he asked, “Levi, where did you get that money?”

Levi gave his shirt and particularly hard scrub. Eren was too much of a straight-arrow to not be bothered by the fact that, “I nicked it.”

Eren looked scandalized. Levi wished the lake didn’t attract so many damn fireflies. They were lighting up Eren’s face and he didn’t like having to see that disappointed look.

“You _stole_ it!?”

“Remind me never to save you from starvation again.”

“I can’t believe you stole that! What if someone needed it?” he said. Eren sank to the ground, looking angry.

“For Christ’s sake, don’t get so high and mighty on me, you’re not exactly innocent yourself,” Levi pointed out. “You’re stealing a magic pot.”

“This is for science,” Eren replied stubbornly.

“Oh, so it’s okay for _science_ ,” Levi said. He wrung out his shirt so hard he heard a seam rip. “Stealing to survive is shitty but you can take whatever you want when it’s science. Got it. Good to know I wasted my life.”

There was a lot of silence from Eren’s end. Levi had already washed his boxers and pants when he spoke up again.

“Is that why Erwin hired you? I needed an assistant but just for the actual archaeologist work. I guess he knew things could get sticky with the talisman and wanted someone with _those_ kinds of skills helping me.”

“That’s what I figured,” Levi replied. He decided to ignore the tone about his skill set. “He never really explained much to me.”

“Me either. But it’s ah, probably a good thing he did.” Eren looked properly ashamed of himself when he continued, “I don’t think I’d be alive without you.”

“You’re welcome. You wanna wash your clothes? I have some soap left.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Eren said. He accepted the soap and stripped to wash up. “And well. I’m glad you’re here.”

Levi swallowed hard. How did a man even respond to something like that from someone he still found himself caring for?

“I think those damn fireflies are gonna keep me up tonight,” Levi said. Eren made some noise in agreement. The two of them quietly prepared for bed after that. At least it was nice and warm because of summer. Sleeping in the open air naked would have been uncomfortable otherwise. After the exhausting day they’d had, falling asleep amid the firefly light turned out to be quiet easy. Before he knew it, Levi was blinking his eyes open in the light of dawn.

He woke Eren and they dressed before eating some bread for breakfast. They started on the walk to the nearest train station soon after.

“How much money do we have left?” Eren asked when they saw the train stretched out in front of them.

“Nothing.”

Eren stopped, gaping at Levi. “What! How are we getting our train tickets with no money? You aren’t going to steal again, are you?”

“You’re so goddamned innocent Eren. You don’t need a ticket to ride the train.”

“What do you mean?”

* * *

“Oh my God,” Eren muttered as he and Levi snuck through the train yard. “What am I doing?”

“Surviving,” Levi said. “Now shut your trap until we find a car.”

They passed a few train cars until they saw an empty one and clambered in. Levi pushed aside a few crates to make a little nook and shoved Eren inside. He pulled one or two behind them to block any view from the guards.

“Now be quiet until we start moving,” he hissed. They stayed pressed together until they heard the train whistle loudly, followed by the metallic screech of the wheels starting to turn. A jolt threw Eren against Levi’s side as the train started to roll down the track.

He didn’t mind the contact at all.


	5. Mythology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren explains more about what he and Levi are hanging on to.

“How long do we have to be quiet?” Eren asked, looking around the train car nervously.

“You can be as loud as the hell you want now that we’re moving,” Levi answered. “But when the train stops shut up if you want to stay hidden. Someone’ll be checking the cars for stowaways. They’ll throw you off if they find you.”

And not without getting the shit beat out of you first. Riding the rails was a risky business. But how else would they get home under the radar? They didn’t want another encounter with that deranged psycho Annie. So the smelly, dim boxcar it was. Levi rearranged some crates so he could at least have a comfortable place to sit. Eren sat on the crate next to him, squinting at the train schedule he’d snatched before leaving the train station to stowaway in a boxcar. He announced, “The train’s not supposed to stop until three o’ clock this afternoon. But then it heads north, and we need to keep going west.”

“Find out which train goes west, we’ll switch cars.”

Having someone around who could read sure was handy. It made this escaping thing a bit easier. Levi felt like he could relax as he settled back onto the crate he was using as a sofa. Several silent moments passed. Eren tapped his feet, cracked his knuckles, and hummed as he looked around the car.

“There something you wanna say to me?” Levi asked.

“I’m a little bored,” Eren admitted. “We could pass the time talking.”

There was worse shit on earth. Besides, he and Eren had already talked a bit during dinners at the dig site and when bathing at the river. Getting to know him probably wouldn’t be so bad. Levi nodded.

“Well. Let’s see. What do you parents do?”

And there was the worse shit.

“Mom’s dead,” Levi said. Eren’s face twisted in an ugly grimace. “As for my father, since I don’t know who he is I guess he could be anything.”

Probably scum, since he was apparently the sort of bastard who visited prostitutes and didn’t even pay them enough to feed themselves or their babies. Of course, there was no need to tell Eren that. He already looked uncomfortable enough with the awkward topic he’d accidentally raised.

“And what does the Jaeger family do?” Levi asked. Anything to get that scolded-puppy look off Eren’s face. It couldn’t be worse than his parents.

“My mom’s a nurse. Dad’s a doctor.”

“That’s…cute,” Levi said. He could imagine the sickly sweetness already. Probably met working in a hospital, flirting over bandaged patients, operating tables, and blood transfusions.

Maybe it wasn’t that cute after all.

“They work together?”

Eren nodded. “They served together during the Great War, too. In field hospitals.”

“Your mom must be a tough lady,” Levi said. He could not imagine volunteering for a war, even if he didn’t have to do any actual fighting. He was only too glad he’d been fifteen (and an undocumented street rat) when the draft went into effect.

“Oh, she is.” Eren seemed a little sour about that. Eren seemed to have gotten over feeling uncomfortable about Levi’s life since he was looking him in the eye again when he continued, “What’s your favorite color?”

Oh God.

“Green,” Levi answered without thinking. “You?”

“I like green too!” Eren said. They talked about their favorite foods, favorite singer, favorite everything for a while. Eren seemed to run out of questions for a minute. Then he asked, “When’s your birthday?”

“Christmas, 1902.”

Eren gaped. Why everyone had to make a huge deal out of Christmas birthdays was beyond him. Levi didn’t think he’d ever get it.

“Did you say ’02?”

“Yeah. What’s it to you?”

Eren flushed. “I’m just surprised is all. I was born in ’09 and I thought you were younger than me. You have a very youthful face.”

“Let’s play a different game.”

* * *

Twenty questions ended up being a safer game. It didn’t require Eren prying into his private life and Levi was winning twelve to two. Oh yes.

“Question 20,” Levi warned Eren. “Make it good.”

“Is it used to clean teeth?”

“Yes.”

“Toothbrush!”

“Nope.”

Eren’s shoulders slumped. “Really? What was it?”

“Floss. Why don’t you be the answerer for a while, I’m starting to feel bad for you,” Levi said. Eren sulked, but it didn’t last long since they both heard the screeching of brakes as the train began to slow.

“All right, get ready to sneak out,” Levi said, throwing the food they’d been snacking on back into the sack. Eren grabbed his shit and they cracked the boxcar door open, waiting for the train to come to a stop in the train yard. They leapt out of the car and scurried away before any guards could notice them.

A little sneaking around through the trains and they’d found the next train that would take them west, back toward their town. They settled into their new train car, setting up another crate nest to hide in. As they stretched out, Eren carefully pulled the bag holding his precious artifact out and laid it gently nearby.

“Why the hell do you care so much about that damn thing?” Levi wanted to know. After all, Eren had almost died to get his hands on his magic lamp.

“I’ve been researching the Walled City for years. I have a lot of research but I don’t have enough to finish my PhD yet. I’m going to use this—” he patted the bag—“to defend my dissertation. Then I’ll finally be Dr. Jaeger.”

Then, Eren muttered quietly, “Maybe Dad’ll be happy then, it’ll be the title he always wanted.”

“Problems with Daddy, huh?” Levi asked. Eren jumped, then an embarrassed look came onto his face. Apparently, he hadn’t meant to say _that_ out loud.

With a sigh, Eren admitted, “He wanted me to become a doctor. Or at least study genetics like Armin does.”

Levi nodded. “So an incredibly rare artifact would be something great to shove in his face?”

“Well I’ve always wanted to find it. The talisman is something I’ve been interested in ever since I first started studying the Walled City. But shoving it in his face is a bonus.”

It occurred to Levi then that he'd never seen the talisman. He vaguely recalled that Annie had called it a crown, but since Eren had never taken it out of the bag and Levi had been too overwhelmed with trying to survive this ordeal to ask about it until now, he wasn’t sure.

"So," he said. "What exactly _is_ in that bag?"

A reverent look overcame Eren’s face. He untied the bag from his belt and finally opened the drawstring. A low whistle escaped Levi's lips the second he saw that thing.

It wasn't a pot, or a lamp. Annie was right. The talisman looked like a crown, but it wasn't a typical one like in storybooks. This crown looked like several crystals had grown together in the form of a ring, as if the jeweler had decided to forgo any material but the jewels of the crown. It sparkled and shone even in the dim light of the rail car.

"Jesus Christ," Levi swore. The thing was surprisingly clean. There wasn't a speck of dirt or dust that he could see on the crown. There were no dings, no chips missing. It looked as perfect now as probably way back when it was crafted thousands of years ago.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Eren breathed. "I can't imagine what kind of craftsmanship went into this thing, I can't even see where the jewels were attached to each other. I'm so excited to study this crown!"

The crown certainly was beautiful, but Levi couldn't help but wonder, "What makes it so important? I'm a little curious just what I'm risking my life for here."

Eren shifted on his crate-seat. Levi’s eyes narrowed when Eren refused to meet his gaze. He was looking guilty again when he said, "Well, it's supposed to have supernatural powers."

"Supernatural powers?"

"According to the myths of the Walled City, the crown had special powers that were entrusted to the royal family to protect the City from its enemies."

"And these powers."

"The myths say the crown gave the rulers the power to transform into a monster."

Eren must have noticed the look on Levi's face because he quickly added, "It's written in a lot of texts. Not just from the Walled City, a lot of neighboring countries and peoples wrote about it. There are drawings, tapestries, even some old scripts for plays. It's not like we're just grasping at some fairy tale. If so many people wrote about it, there has to be something there."

"Lots of people believe Jesus died on the cross and came back to life in a cave but we can't really prove it, or that he had powers, can we?"

Eren shrugged. "It's worth looking into. Especially by our investors."

Levi waited for Eren to explain _that_. God, this archaeology business was fucking complicated. He’d never imagined he’d get caught up in all this crap when he’d agreed to help with this dig.

Eren explained, "The university is interested because of the obvious historical worth but we also had some folks from the government. A secret weapon really interested them."

Levi was glad living under the radar of the law meant he didn't have to pay taxes. It was fucking revolting that the government was spending tax money searching for ancient crowns with mystical monster-ification powers. Especially considering how many people were still fucked over from the market crash. Didn’t those people unable to feed themselves have some sort of precedence?

"And you're interested in gaining these monster powers?" Levi asked. He’d never pictured Eren as the power-hungry type who wanted to terrorize the hell out of others as a monster. He was learning a lot about Eren today, but he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know this shit. It had been a lot nicer when he only had a flawless fantasy in the library.

"I'm more interested in the history,” Eren insisted, “but the money from the people interested in the powers really helped us out. We get to study the crown before we have to hand it over, so it's a good arrangement."

“Except for the part where we were almost killed.”

An obvious tinge of annoyance filled Eren’s voice as he reminded him, “That wasn’t part of the plan.” He turned the crown over in his hands again. There was only a tiny beam of light from the open crack in the car doors. The crown still managed to reflect the light, tiny rainbows bouncing off their faces.

“There’s another interesting thing about this crown,” Eren said. He seemed quieter than before, and pointedly looked down at the crown instead of Levi’s face.

“Yeah?”

He was still fiddling with the crown as he spoke, “There’s a myth about its last owner. The Queen who reigned over the Walled City just before it collapsed. She was the only ruler we can find a record of who apparently shared the crown’s power. She let her closest and most trusted guard use the crown to protect her.”

“I can see where this is going,” Levi muttered. Same old story. “Shitty guard gets a taste of power, decides he likes it, tries to overthrow the queen. But he fucks up and destroys the city with his monster powers? Or just his own bad judgment ruling a whole city?”

“Not exactly,” Eren said. “The guard was a woman and she was the queen’s lover. Supposedly they stayed lovers until they died. The guard was said to be unquestioningly loyal to her queen. No one doubted her occasional use of the crown. By all accounts it was a beautiful love story.”

Levi’s stomach lurched. Why was Eren telling him this? He seemed so comfortable discussing a relationship that most would have papered over, claimed they were simply friends because the alternative was disgusting to them. But Eren simply accepted that his crown was a symbol of trust in the homosexual mythology of the people he was studying. It was odd, but it was raising Levi’s hopes incredibly high.

He swallowed down the feeling of cotton mouth so he could say, “She must have really loved her guard to hand that over to her. Even without powers it’s pretty fucking amazing.”

Eren laughed a little. “Well, I guess it’s the closest thing to a ring she could give to her. It’s too bad the City collapsed so soon into her reign. Some of the writings from the time say that it was her fault the walls came down.”

“Did she knock those big-ass holes in the gates?” Levi asked. Because it seemed to his uneducated self that that was what made them collapse.

Eren twisted the crown in his hands again before adding, “The texts say the powers were to remain pure, which was why only the royal family could wield them. Other people touching the crown would destroy its purity and the kingdom would suffer. That’s why they thought it brought down the kingdom.”

“So she shouldn’t have let her lady love touch it after all?” Levi asked. Eren shook his head.

“It’s probably just bad timing that the only ruler who shared the crown was the last one to preside over the walls. From what we can determine from the site, the walls were finally breached by some enemy all the way up to Sina. Most scholars agree that when all the people were stuck in one tiny walled area with no pastures or farmers, they starved from a lack of food. I’m sure it had nothing to do with her sharing her crown.”

It was stupid, but Levi hoped Eren was right. These mysterious lesbians had lived almost two thousand years ago but Levi found himself feeling pity for them. He knew their ending was shitty, but he wished it could have been happy. It would be awful if their love really had brought down a kingdom. Eren’s version of their deaths was better.

“Sharing a crown would be a stupid way for a kingdom to be ruined,” he mentioned.

Eren looked up at Levi for the first time since he’d started tell his myth. The flecks of light on his face revealed a hint of pink to his cheeks before he spoke up again. “Even in the face of total ruin I can see why she did it.”

Levi didn’t have much time to puzzle over what that meant because he was shocked by Eren reaching over toward him, crown in hand. He heart raced when it hit him that Eren was trying to set the crown on his head. He was trying to set a dead queen’s crown on his head that she had pointedly shared with her same-sex lover.

Instinctively he smacked Eren’s hands away, not missing the crushed look on his face when he did. His mouth felt as dry as dust when he stuttered out, “I don’t want to turn into some gross monster, get that cursed shit away from me.”

Eren laughed nervously. The mood in the car had changed completely. Levi had felt like he was in a quiet trance while Eren was telling his myth, but now things felt tense and strange. His mind was roiling, unable to decide if he’d just taken this whole thing for something it wasn’t or if Eren was trying to tell him something, to confess. That maybe this lust and hint of feelings wasn’t one-sided after all. That maybe he wanted Levi the same way Levi wanted him. Because. Well.

He’d tried to share the crown.

The crown he’d almost laid down his life for.

The crown he’d spent his adult life searching for, slaving over, he had tried to share that with Levi.

It meant.

Surely it meant something.

Surely, _surely_ …

This train was going to restart at any minute. Only a few hours from now this contract would be done and Eren would be gone. Now. He only had now.

The air felt like molasses with how slow Levi’s arm seemed to move before his palm met Eren’s warm knee.

“I don’t need a crown,” he said, firmly meeting Eren’s eyes. Maybe he was fucking up, but he couldn’t let this go without saying anything. If he was wrong, he’d only have to endure a few hours of humiliation before they could part ways. But maybe he was wrong, Eren was looking on Levi in absolute wonder. Levi hoped Eren had understood the “All I need is you” that was left unspoken.

He must have because he took the hand Levi placed on his knee, laced their fingers together, all while looking suspiciously at Levi, like he still expected that Levi might have misunderstood him. He didn’t yank his hand back. He just squeezed Eren’s hand. The Adam’s apple in Eren’s throat bobbed when he swallowed and leaned in forward. Levi thought he might never hear again with the fantastic roaring of blood rushing through his ears; their foreheads bumped, he felt Eren’s nose touch his cheek their lips were inches apart and he could feel Eren’s breath on him when there was suddenly a loud screech.

Eren leapt in his seat so hard he toppled off the crate he was sitting on. Their nest fell apart just in time for the door to the train car to be wrenched open. Levi was ready to see a conductor or guard ready to throw some stowaways off the train, but what he saw instead was much, much worse.


	6. Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan.

They hadn’t been caught by guards. That would have been easy; sure, they’d have been roughed up and thrown off the train, but they could have always snuck onto another train. But no, life was a bitch to Levi. Instead, they _had_ to be caught by the very people they were on this filthy train to avoid.

“ _Annie!_ ” Eren yelped.

_Of course_ the train doors parted to show the psychotic blonde and her backup duo of Sweaty and Musclehead. She raised an eyebrow at how close Levi and Eren were sitting together, and the fact that Eren was still clasping one of Levi’s hand. He let go like he’d touched a hot stove. Levi knew they saw anyway because Musclehead snickered. Sweaty sweated. Of all the positions to be found in.

At least they weren’t ass naked.

Having clothes on was a small comfort as Annie once again demanded, “Eren, hand over the crown.”

Judging by the guns in her henchmen’s hands, she meant business. And this time, they had nowhere to run and nothing to escape with.

Except their fists. But it would be stupid to try that now—

The next thing he knew, Eren was lying on the floor with his ass in the air. Christ. Annie was _fast_. Levi had barely noticed Eren’s first attempted swing. She was good. He might have been a little impressed. In the face of that monstrous attack, Levi was surprised to see Eren roll over and get up again.

Eyes wild, he shouted, “I’m not giving this up!” at her. Annie’s foot shot out at his face, but Eren managed to dodge this time. Out of the corner of his eye Levi saw Musclehead and Sweaty step forward to join the fight.

The intense desire to protect Eren from a three-on-one fight took over Levi’s common sense. The thought of the guns didn’t stop him from striking quickly: an elbow to Sweaty’s gut before he kicked the back of Musclehead’s knee. Both of them tumbled to the ground in a crumpled heap, guns skittering away from them as they fell to the floor. Levi leapt over them, intent on helping Eren. A hand around his ankle stopped him.

“ _Fuck!_ ” he shouted as pain exploded in his face. His nose throbbed intensely and he hoped that smashing into the ground hadn’t broken it. Levi lashed out with his other foot, kicking nothing but air a few times before finally colliding. He took immense satisfaction when he heard the pained yelp and thud of foot connecting with flesh.

The fingers around his ankle slipped away. Levi scrambled back to his feet before Musclehead could grab him again. That last kick seemed to have downed Musclehead, at least temporarily, but Sweaty was still standing there like an awkward giraffe, practically trembling while he stared him down. His kick was slow enough that Levi could sidestep it easily. What was hard to avoid where the splinters and shards of wood that went flying when one of Sweaty’s long-ass legs collided with the crates and obliterated them.

“Shit!” Eren shouted. Levi’s head whipped around in time to see Eren wiping his eyes furiously. There was a gash dribbling blood down his forehead where a block of wood had apparently clocked him. Looking away from the fight was a mistake, the kind Levi didn’t usually make.

But he had, and that moment of weakness was when Musclehead became reanimated and aimed a punch square at Levi’s face.

The throbbing in his cheek was so bad he could barely hiss, “You fucker.”

Blood sprayed out as he talked; Levi shuddered and had to spit out a coppery mouthful of red. More blood was dripping from his nose now, running down his face and splattering onto his shirt. Fucking _disgusting_.

Musclehead took advantage of Levi’s stupid distraction and sent a few more punches Levi’s way; left side, when he stumbled back another hit to right shoulder, then the chin. Even with aching teeth, Levi managed to block a blow aimed at his solar plexus, then made a counterstrike to Musclehead’s cheek that had him staggering back, but Sweaty was advancing on him now. Dulls thuds and Eren’s cries of pain echoed through the train car.

This was not going well. Levi was getting his pathetic ass kicked. Being around Eren had made him so soft, he hadn’t fucked up this badly in a fight since Kenny was still putting him through the wringer after his mother had kicked the bucket. Remembering that sorry excuse for a guardian made Levi’s chest burn with anger, all those old feelings of disgust and hatred of the world after Kuchel had wasted away coming back in full force.

Levi decked Musclehead with all the strength he could muster. The other man actually screamed as he fell over backward, and laid still after Levi violently kicked him in the chest. A terrified look crossed Sweaty’s face when he realized his comrade was down and Levi still had loathing to air out. The foot of difference in their heights made no difference as Levi tackled him.

Sweaty went down like a log. Levi clambered onto his waist and relished the crunch as his knuckles collided with Sweaty’s face. He even loved the burn stinging at his bones from punching that sorry sonuvabitch over and over and over. Sweaty bleating in pain was like icing on the cake. Levi could barely think, too consumed with how much better with the world he felt right in here in this moment.

But he couldn’t shut out Eren’s scream of, “Fuck, Annie, _GET OFF ME!_ ”

Even if he’d tried Levi couldn’t have not looked over at that awful cry. He was met with the sight of Annie wrestling Eren to the ground, one hand twisting his hair around her fist. It was a shock to see Annie’s cheeks were wet with tears as she ripped a pistol from a holster on her shoulder.

_She means it._

Levi dropped Sweaty and dove over to Eren, snatching the bag off his belt. He hurled the bag at Annie before her finger could close on the trigger.

His throat ached with how loud he shouted, “Fucking _take it!_ ”

Eren’s outraged shriek of “ _Levi!_ ” echoed through the boxcar. Levi barely paid attention to it, focusing instead on Annie’s face. His breath was heaving, every second he was silently praying she’d just let them go, make sure that Eren was okay. She’d caught the bag in her free hand and shoved the gun back in its holster to check inside. A look of utter relief crossed her face as she caressed the crown, now in her possession.

“Let’s go,” she said. Relief swept over Levi. She was gonna leave, Eren was going to live. He was going to be okay. He couldn’t say the same for Annie’s goons. Sweaty helped Musclehead up, the two of them forced to limp after her as she hopped down from the train car.

“Wait!” Eren shouted before trying to get up. His arms shook as he crawled miserably to the edge of the car’s open door. “You can’t… Annie, I—”

“They’re over here,” they heard Annie call out. To whom, well, that became obvious as two guards strode over. _Fuck._

“Stowaways, huh?” the one said before grabbing Eren by the collar. Levi didn’t see it, but he knew by Eren’s shouts of pain he was getting the shit beaten out of him. Something that was absolutely in store for him as the second guard jumped up into the car, glaring hard at Levi.

Levi didn’t remember much after that first excruciating kick to the stomach. The pain only started to recede several minutes after the train had continued on its way, him and Eren both lying panting in the grass next to the track where they’d been unceremoniously shoved out of the boxcar. Levi used his sleeve to wipe his face of blood and vomit, too exhausted and pained to give a shit about ruining his clothes like that.

Amid their ragged, uneven breathing Levi heard Eren stir. The sound of Eren’s fist hitting the dirt next to Levi’s head struck him like a thunderclap. He’d always thought that he would love the day a red-faced Eren climbed on top of him.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“How could you?” Eren growled through gritted teeth. Levi looked up at him, a little shocked at the vitriol twisting Eren’s blood-and-tear-stained face beyond recognition. “ _How could you?_ Don’t you know… You _know_ how hard I’ve been working to find that! And you just… Why?”

“Did you miss the part where that bitch was going to _kill_ you?” Levi asked incredulously.

Days of this shit was finally getting on his nerves. He did everything he could to help keep Eren alive but he threw it all back in his face, insulting Levi left and right about his methods. He’d given Eren everything and all Eren had in response was a middle finger to his face and a big “fuck you”. To hell with that. Levi shoved Eren away and sat up, ignoring the sharp pains that shot through his torso. He poked a finger hard between Eren’s eyes. “Do your shitty nerd eyes need some glasses, or are you just pretending your girlfriend didn’t point a gun at your face?”

“Annie would never—”

“She did, you jackass,” Levi snapped. “The gun was right fucking there, her finger was on the trigger, she was going to kill you. She _already_ _tried_ to kill you. Remember when she shot at our truck? Because I sure as hell do.”

Eren’s mouth thinned, lips pressed tightly together in anger.

“I know her,” he insisted, a dark, stormy undertone coloring his voice. “You don’t.”

“I have eyes. And a brain.” And a sense of preservation.

“Well what you obviously don’t have is empathy or morals!” Eren snapped. Levi felt a cold, ugly feeling settle into his stomach.

“Have fun finding your way home alone, you little shit,” Levi growled before getting to his feet. He turned and limped away from Eren’s crumpled body without looking back.

* * *

Ten hours of hitchhiking later, Levi was back in his town. He walked up to his apartment, opened the door, and then suffocated quietly under Isabel and Farlan’s crushing hugs. He let them hang on for about ten minutes before shaking them off, insisting, “I smell like shit, I need a bath.”

Watching his white, freshly-bleached bathtub fill with clean, sterile water from the tap felt like an unbelievable luxury after the last two weeks. A tear of gratitude or two might have graced Levi’s bath as he stepped in, feeling the warm water caress every aching bone and muscle. This was heaven. He relaxed into his bath and leisurely soaped up (being gentle from the ton of bruises littering his body).

It took about an hour of soaking and scrubbing for Levi to feel clean again. Getting back into his own clothes instead of those prissy intellectual clown clothes was a nice feeling too. So was leaving the bathroom and finding out that Isabel and Farlan had made his favorite meal in celebration that he was back.

Levi was grateful that neither of them pestered him for details of what had happened in the last two weeks. He’d catch the occasional curious glance from Isabel or Farlan, but they seemed to catch on that Levi didn’t want to talk about it. After he assured them that despite the bruising, he was fine, they dropped it. Just sitting and listening to their tales of what had happened in the neighborhood while he was gone was more than enough to make Levi happy.

It wasn’t until night fell and he was nestled in his comfortable clean bunk, Isabel clinging to his side like a limpet, that he found his traitorous brain thinking about Eren again.

He wondered if Eren was also sleeping in his own bed tonight, or under a bridge. Levi had left him behind, far from home, obviously with no street skills to keep him going. Levi wondered if Eren was ever going to get home. He pulled his blanket over his head, trying to block out the sudden feeling of guilt weighing him down.


	7. Soul Mates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was all this struggle for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last! The end. I hope you all enjoyed ereri week. I know I did.

Three weeks passed. Levi didn’t hear anything from either the cops or the university, so he figured that whatever had happened to Eren, his job was over and done with. Isabel and Farlan were safe, so he supposed he had jack to be ungrateful about. In the end the Eren he’d been interested in was only a fantasy so it wasn’t as if he’d lost anything.

Somehow he still _felt_ like something was lost as time continued to pass by. Every time Farlan cracked a joke, he’d find himself wondering if Eren would have laughed at it. He couldn’t look too closely at Isabel anymore because her bright green eyes reminded him too much of the way Eren smiled when he uncovered a fresh shard of pottery or old metal bangle. Sometimes on jobs now, when he cracked a window or broke a lock he’d think of Eren’s disapproval of his work and start feeling angry as hell all over again.

His bitter musing was interrupted by Isabel asking, “What’s wrong, Big Bro? You look so sad.”

“I’m fine,” Levi answered. He tipped back his chair and took another swig of his soda to prove just how okay he was. See, fine.

“You’ll feel even better after I tell you what I heard today,” Farlan declared. He sat backwards on one of their kitchen chairs. “I hear one of the local families got their hands on something very interesting.”

A loud screech assaulted Levi’s ears as Isabel scooted her chair closer to Farlan. “Tell, tell!”

Farlan’s face got that calculating look Levi was oh-so-familiar with. “So I heard that they got their mitts on a mystical talisman dug up from an ancient city.”

Aw fuck. This better not be what Levi thought it was.

“I’ve heard it’s a crown with magic powers!”

“Magic powers? Who’d believe that?” Isabel scoffed.

“It sounds stupid,” Farlan agreed. “And my source tells me the original family that got ahold of it couldn’t make it work, but before anyone figures that out they’re auctioning it off. It’s supposed to fetch a pretty penny.”

“Rich people spend money on the weirdest shit,” Isabel said.

“Which is why I think that crown should be the subject of our next heist,” Farlan announced. “We could make _millions_.”

“Wow!”

“Levi, what do you think?”

Of course they _could_ do it. They’d heisted all manner of expensive crap and gotten away with it every time. Still, never anything worth millions. But no matter how much it cost, Levi was just as sure that if they tried, they have that crystal crown back in their hands.

Funny. Levi could only really picture it in Eren’s hands. He had been a dick to Levi, but he’d worked hard on finding it. Levi had seen that with his own two eyes all those days they’d slaved together in the dirt of the Walled City. Work Levi had to unravel to keep Eren alive. Great, there was that guilt again. He’d done it to save his life, so Levi didn’t regret handing the crown over. He did feel bad for Eren though. Somehow the crown seemed as if it belonged by his side.

Then again, they could have _millions_ of dollars.

With millions of dollars he could buy a house, a nice one out in the countryside where things were clean with grassy lawns. They could have a safe place for Isabel and Farlan to sleep at night. They wouldn’t have to risk their lives every week trying to steal enough to survive.

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

* * *

Ugh. The smell of garbage and piss was the worst. Unfortunately, Farlan’s plan required that Levi wait out of sight which meant in the disgusting shadows. He scanned the street, disappointed that the Rolls Royce they were expecting hadn’t arrived yet. The sooner it came, the sooner Levi could escape the piss smell.

Levi glanced upward: squinting, he could just make out Isabel, hiding on the roof. He couldn’t see him, but Farlan was supposed to be on the other side of the street, all three of them waiting. According to Farlan’s intel, sometime between two and three o’ clock in the morning a car carrying the crown was going to pass through.

And that needed to happen fucking soon, because Levi was this close to gagging over the smell.

He could have said a prayer of thanks when he heard the purr of an engine. Levi pressed himself back against the stinking wall, waiting to see if the approaching headlights backed a car with that familiar silver woman on the hood. He’d spent enough time around mobsters in this life to know exactly what the hood ornament looked like on a Rolls Royce.

There it was. He readied himself; Isabel sprung with her slingshot and the shatter of the driver’s window pierced the air. A loud swear came from the car, then the wheels screeched on the pavement as the car came to a stop. The driver stepped out brandishing his gun.

“Which one of you shits broke my window?” he howled.

Levi was proud of Isabel. Another rock successfully flew through the air and knocked the gun out of his hands. Farlan darted out and with a swing of his crowbar, the driver was down. Levi stepped forward, pleased that the heist was coming together so easily. The family had made a huge mistake carrying their crown around so casually.

Farlan suddenly shouted and stumbled back after throwing open the back door of the car. He was crumpled on the floor and Levi started running forward, the sick realization that there was another person hidden in the car flooding him.

He managed to reach the car just as the second mobster slid behind the wheel. Levi leapt into the back seat before the mobster turned the car back on. He grabbed the mobster’s tie and yanked hard, until the gasping man’s foot fell off the gas pedal. Levi dropped the tie; the mobster lay gasping on the driver’s seat while Levi grabbed the box sitting on the back seat. A quick glance inside the box showed that the crown was inside.

Before the mobster could get back to his feet, Levi dashed out and ran back to where Isabel was helping Farlan stand up. All three of them ducked into an alley and disappeared.

* * *

“I can’t believe we got it!” Farlan crowed. He clutched a steak to his black eye. “Levi, lemme see it!”

Levi reached for the box resting on their kitchen counter. He reached in and finally, after so many weeks, touched the crown.

The crystals were oddly warm, like he was touching skin, but hard. Levi was a little grossed out as he carried it over to their kitchen table. He found his steps slowing as he got closer to Farlan. The crown seemed to get heavier too, and Levi was confused about why he suddenly felt sick at the thought of putting in Farlan’s hands.

“Oooh, it’s so pretty!” Isabel squealed. She reached out, insisting, “I wanna try it on!”

“Don’t play around,” Farlan said. “We don’t wanna chip the crystals! Let me see the condition it’s in.”

Levi felt like it was glued to his hand. He stared at it. The ring of crystals looked wrong, sitting in his hands. The crown had looked right in Eren’s tanned hands, but not like this. Chrissake, why the hell did he have to start thinking of Eren again? His traitor brain was remembering Eren, and how handing the crown over after all the work he and Eren put into finding it just felt wrong. It had been different when Eren’s life was at stake, but here in his own apartment he felt like a jackass.

“Levi? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Levi lied. He knew where this belonged. “But Farlan. You’re gonna hate me for this.”

* * *

It felt strange to be walking up to the university again after so much time had passed. Levi tightened his grip on the rucksack in his hands before stepping onto the campus. This time he wasn’t here to hide from arrest or stalk an attractive graduate student. He had legitimate business here today.

Farlan had almost cried when he agreed to the plan. The only thing that had convinced him, after telling his friends the whole story about what exactly had happened while he was away, was Isabel turning watery eyes on Farlan, declaring, “But Farlan, _it’s so romantic_.”

Somehow that had made him cave. Levi wasn’t complaining, even if this was turning out to be much more difficult than he’d thought. He had to ask around before he found the Archaeology department and the Department Head’s office. There were voices in the room, murmuring so quietly that Levi couldn’t tell what they were saying. Well. He’d made a promise to Eren. He knocked once before opening the door.

He recognized those bastards Erwin Smith and Mike right away. The conversation in the room died when they looked over at him. And oh. There was Eren, jaw hanging and eyes bugging. Levi crossed the room and dug a hand into his rucksack. He pulled out the crown and tried very hard not to think about how much money he was throwing away when he set it on top of Eren’s head.

The silence was awkward and horrifying. Levi hated the feeling of his skin prickling with the intense looks he was getting from all three men. He spun around and strode purposefully out of the room so he wouldn’t have to see that. He heard the door shut behind him as he walked down the hall. It was all over now.

Levi had almost reached the stairs when he heard a bang. When he turned around to look, he saw Eren sprinting down the hallway like a maniac. Once he’d reached Levi he grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him through a nearby door. It looked like another little office. There was a photo on the desk showing a doctor and nurse—the nurse looked so much like an older, feminine version of Eren it had to be his parents.

His elbow was still in Eren’s warm grip. The crown dangled from his other hand, held up in the air. Through the wild panting from running down the hall, Eren managed to gasp out, “Where did you get this?”

“I came across it in my regular line of work,” Levi answered honestly. “Thought you’d appreciate having it back. I know it’s important to you.”

Eren flushed. “It is,” he mumbled. “Thank you.”

He let go of Levi’s arm. There. _Now_ the contract was officially done. Levi had done everything required of him. He turned around, figuring this was the last they would have in each other’s lives. He hadn’t even taken one step toward the door before he hear Eren call out, “Levi!”

A flush spread across Eren’s face.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. There was real regret in his eyes when he continued, “Back when Annie caught us I shouldn’t have said what I said. I do appreciate all you did for me. You’re amazing. I mean. You could have sold this”—he shook the crown—“but you brought it back instead. Why?”

He was looking at Levi in absolute wonder. Levi recognized that look. That was one of Eren’s faces that he’d gotten to know so well digging with him back at the Walled City. That was the face Eren made when he saw something incredibly beautiful, the thoughtful face when he’d put two pieces together and realized something new or exciting. In this moment, Levi couldn’t help but think about the Eren he’d first seen in the library, the Eren he’d fallen head over heels for during the dig. It was hard to stay mad at Eren for that stupid, angry slip-up in the train. Not when he seemed like he really meant it when he’d apologized.

“Of course I brought it back you wanted it, didn’t you? And I agreed to help you with whatever you asked me to do.”

Eren took a step closer. “You really mean _anything_?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?”

The crown made a dull clinking sound when Eren set it on his desk. He took both of Levi’s hands in his.

“Is this okay?” he asked. Levi hoped that squeezing his hands back gently was enough of an answer for Eren. It must have been, because the next thing he knew he was on the receiving end of an enthusiastic kiss.

Kissing Eren was everything he could have imagined; Eren put every ounce of passion and drive in him toward whatever task he had, including this. Eren was the type who pulled his partner flush against his chest, dug his fingers into their waist, tangled them in his hair. His kisses were sloppy and Levi was pretty sure he had a cut on his lip from Eren’s teeth, but he couldn’t care less when Eren’s kisses took his breath away like this.

Thank Jesus he’d stolen that stupid-ass book from the library.

* * *

If there was one benefit to being in a relationship with a man who routinely went away for weeks at a time, this was it.

Sunlight was starting to stream through the curtains in Eren’s bedroom but Levi was pretty sure neither of them had gotten one wink of sleep that night. The sheets were falling off the bed, joining the mound of crumpled clothes on the floor. After so long without touching each other, neither cared what kind of gross mess they made in the house in their desperate efforts to reconnect.

Reunion fucking was always so fantastic.

Eren stretched languidly before setting his pillow right and lying down on it. “I missed you,” he said. It was probably the first thing he’d said all night that wasn’t moaning or screaming for more.

“I can tell. So can my numb hips,” Levi answered. He didn’t fucking care that he probably wouldn’t be able to stand for a while. Over the last year, he’d come to really enjoy the marathon of sex that awaited him when Eren returned from digs. Which reminded him, “So how was your trip, _Dr_. Jaeger?”

Eren flushed even darker.

“Amazing,” he stuttered, eyes rolling upward in thanks. “The Underground City is really something else. And it’s so well-preserved!”

Levi liked hearing Eren enthuse about his work. Something about his tone changed, and he carefully wound a sweaty arm around Levi. Eren added, “We found something really interesting this time around. Some texts that I haven’t had a chance to fully translate yet, but I was able to get the gist of some of it. It’s about the crown.”

That thing.

“What about it?”

“Apparently one of the powers the crown had was of healing. The wearer could never be killed because any injury they sustained would be healed. Hands could grow back, bones could knit back together, all sorts of crazy things.”

And there was one of the downsides to dating an archaeologist. Sometimes the things Eren talked about just, “Sounds like bullshit.”

Eren chuckled. “I might have thought so too if I hadn’t lost that tooth in the mountains. Remember? When we crashed.”

Boy, did Levi remember crashing that car. And he also remembered Eren spitting out a tooth that he later realized was still in his mouth. He remembered thinking how odd that was, but that couldn’t be the magic crown.

“I had the crown on me the whole time,” Eren pointed out. “I wonder if it really does have powers because how else could my tooth grow back?”

Levi shrugged. He was convinced there had to have been some mistake when Eren spat that thing out. Teeth couldn’t grow back. “Who knows?”

Eren was quiet for a while. Levi had to know. “Do you really believe that old crown has powers?”

“I’m starting to,” Eren admitted. “And that’s why I’ve decided to partner with the State. They want my help trying to figure out how to make it work.”

“How are you planning on doing that?”

“I do have an idea,” Eren said. “I got it from some of the other things we’ve been translating. Do you remember when I told you about the queen who wore the crown last?”

“The one who shared her monster crown with her guard?”

“Yes. So according to this text she shouldn’t have been able to do that. The crown was supposed to only be able to be activated by a blood member of the royal family.”

Levi groaned before growling, “Don’t tell me they were secretly related.” The poor ancient lesbians had already had a rough life apparently. He didn’t want to hear anything about them finding out they were fucking their sister.

“No, they weren’t. But what I found out is that the members of the royal family needed something extra to activate the crown. You know, so they didn’t just turn in a monster any time they wore it. They needed a strong purpose to be able to use the crown’s magic. And the queen apparently found her purpose in her guard. They say they were soul mates, and that bond was strong enough to give her complete control of the crown’s power. So much control she could even hand it over.”

“Interesting.” Bullshit was more like it, but Levi didn’t want to rain on Eren’s parade. That was one of the things you did in a relationship, Levi had learned. At least, when you wanted the relationship to work out. And when you wanted blowjobs from your partner. “And how does this help you make the thing work now?”

“Well, if you only need a soul mate to make the crown work…” Eren’s cheeks turned pink. Then he buried his face in Levi’s neck. His voice was muffled when he said, “Then I could see how I could try to make it work.”

Levi still didn’t believe in any of this bullshit, but it made his chest tingle to hear Eren say that.

“I think you can, soul mate.”


End file.
